Yoel 2:10

2:10 The earth quakes ¹  before them; ² 

the sky reverberates. ³ 

The sun and the moon grow dark;

the stars refuse to shine. ⁴ 

Yoel 2:31

2:31 The sunlight will be turned to darkness

and the moon to the color of blood, ⁵ 

before the day of the Lord comes –

that great and terrible day!

Yoel 3:14-15

3:14 Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision,

for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision! ⁶ 

3:15 The sun and moon are darkened;

the stars withhold ⁷  their brightness.

Keluaran 20:21

20:21 The people kept ⁸  their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness ⁹  where God was. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 97:2

97:2 Dark clouds surround him;

equity and justice are the foundation of his throne. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 5:30

5:30 At that time ¹²  they will growl over their prey, ¹³ 

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ¹⁴ 

One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,

clouds will turn the light into darkness. ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 8:22

8:22 When one looks out over the land, he sees ¹⁶  distress and darkness, gloom ¹⁷  and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land. ¹⁸ 

Yeremia 13:16

13:16 Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him. ¹⁹ 

Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. ²⁰ 

Do it before you stumble ²¹  into distress

like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. ²² 

Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for

into the darkness and gloom of exile. ²³ 

Amos 5:18-20

The Lord Demands Justice

5:18 Woe ²⁴  to those who wish for the day of the Lord!

Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?

It will bring darkness, not light.

5:19 Disaster will be inescapable, ²⁵ 

as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,

then escaped ²⁶  into a house,

leaned his hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

5:20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring ²⁷  darkness, not light –

gloomy blackness, not bright light?

Zefanya 1:14-15

1:14 The Lord’s great day of judgment ²⁸  is almost here;

it is approaching very rapidly!

There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment;

at that time warriors will cry out in battle. ²⁹ 

1:15 That day will be a day of God’s anger, ³⁰ 

a day of distress and hardship,

a day of devastation and ruin,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and dark skies,

Ibrani 12:18

12:18 For you have not come to something that can be touched, ³¹  to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind

Yudas 1:13

1:13 wild sea waves, ³²  spewing out the foam of ³³  their shame; ³⁴  wayward stars ³⁵  for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness ³⁶  have been reserved.

[2:10]  ¹ sn Witnesses of locust invasions have described the visual effect of large numbers of these creatures crawling over one another on the ground. At such times the ground is said to appear to be in motion, creating a dizzying effect on some observers. The reference in v. 10 to the darkening of the sun and moon probably has to do with the obscuring of visibility due to large numbers of locusts swarming in the sky.

[2:10]  ² tn Heb “before it.”

[2:10]  ³ tn Heb “trembles.”

[2:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “gather their brightness.”

[2:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “to blood,” but no doubt this is intended to indicate by metonymy the color of blood rather than the substance itself. The blood red color suggests a visual impression here – something that could be caused by fires, volcanic dust, sandstorms, or other atmospheric phenomena.

[3:14]  ⁶ sn The decision referred to here is not a response on the part of the crowd, but the verdict handed out by the divine judge.

[3:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “gather in.”

[20:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “and they stood”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:21]  ⁹ sn The word עֲרָפֶל (’arafel) is used in poetry in Ps 18:9 and 1 Kgs 8:12; and it is used in Deut 4:11, 5:22 [19].

[20:21]  ¹⁰ sn It will not be hard to expound the passage on the Ten Commandments once their place in scripture has been determined. They, for the most part, are reiterated in the NT, in one way or another, usually with a much higher standard that requires attention to the spirit of the laws. Thus, these laws reveal God’s standard of righteousness by revealing sin. No wonder the Israelites were afraid when they saw the manifestation of God and heard his laws. When the whole covenant is considered, preamble and all, then it becomes clear that the motivation for obeying the commands is the person and the work of the covenant God – the one who redeemed his people. Obedience then becomes a response of devotion and adoration to the Redeemer who set them free. It becomes loyal service, not enslavement to laws. The point could be worded this way: God requires that his covenant people, whom he has redeemed, and to whom he has revealed himself, give their absolute allegiance and obedience to him. This means they will worship and serve him and safeguard the well-being of each other.

[97:2]  ¹¹ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[5:30]  ¹² tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[5:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:30]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”

[5:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”

[5:30]  sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).

[8:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[8:22]  ¹⁷ tn The precise meaning of מְעוּף (mÿ’uf) is uncertain; the word occurs only here. See BDB 734 s.v. מָעוּף.

[8:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “ and darkness, pushed.” The word מְנֻדָּח (mÿnudakh) appears to be a Pual participle from נדח (“push”), but the Piel is unattested for this verb and the Pual occurs only here.

[13:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Give glory/respect to the Lord your God.” For this nuance of the word “glory” (כָּבוֹד, kavod), see BDB 459 s.v. כָּבוֹד 6.b and compare the usage in Mal 1:6 and Josh 7:19.

[13:16]  ²⁰ tn The words “of disaster” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to explain the significance of the metaphor to readers who may not be acquainted with the metaphorical use of light and darkness for salvation and joy and distress and sorrow respectively.

[13:16]  sn For the metaphorical use of these terms the reader should consult O. A. Piper, “Light, Light and Darkness,” IDB 3:130-32. For the association of darkness with the Day of the Lord, the time when he will bring judgment, see, e.g., Amos 5:18-20. For the association of darkness with exile see Isa 9:1-2 (8:23-9:1 HT).

[13:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “your feet stumble.”

[13:16]  ²² tn Heb “you stumble on the mountains at twilight.” The added words are again supplied in the translation to help explain the metaphor to the uninitiated reader.

[13:16]  ²³ tn Heb “and while you hope for light he will turn it into deep darkness and make [it] into gloom.” The meaning of the metaphor is again explained through the addition of the “of” phrases for readers who are unacquainted with the metaphorical use of these terms.

[13:16]  sn For the meaning and usage of the term “deep darkness” (צַלְמָוֶת, tsalmavet), see the notes on Jer 2:6. For the association of the term with exile see Isa 9:2 (9:1 HT). For the association of the word gloom with the Day of the Lord see Isa 60:2; Joel 2:2; Zeph 1:15.

[5:18]  ²⁴ tn The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”) was used when mourning the dead (see the note on the word “dead” in 5:16). The prophet here either engages in role playing and mourns the death of the nation in advance or sarcastically taunts those who hold to this misplaced belief.

[5:19]  ²⁵ tn The words “Disaster will be inescapable” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “went” (so KJV, NRSV).

[5:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Will not the day of the Lord be.”

[1:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “The great day of the Lord.” The words “of judgment” are supplied in the translation here and later in this verse for clarity. See the note on the expression “day of judgment” in v. 7.

[1:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the sound of the day of the Lord, bitter [is] one crying out there, a warrior.” The present translation does four things: (1) It takes מַר (mar, “bitter”) with what precedes (contrary to the accentuation of the MT). (2) It understands the participle צָרַח (tsarakh, “cry out in battle”) as verbal with “warrior” as its subject. (3) It takes שָׁם (sham, “there”) in a temporal sense, meaning “then, at that time.” (4) It understands “warrior” as collective.

[1:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a day of wrath.” The word “God’s” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:18]  ³¹ tn This describes the nation of Israel approaching God on Mt. Sinai (Exod 19). There is a clear contrast with the reference to Mount Zion in v. 22, so this could be translated “a mountain that can be touched.” But the word “mountain” does not occur here and the more vague description seems to be deliberate.

[1:13]  ³² tn Grk “wild waves of the sea.”

[1:13]  ³³ tn Grk “foaming, causing to foam.” The verb form is intensive and causative. BDAG 360 s.v. ἐπαφρίζω suggests the meaning “to cause to splash up like froth, cause to foam,” or, in this context, “waves casting up their own shameless deeds like (dirty) foam.”

[1:13]  ³⁴ tn Grk “shames, shameful things.” It is uncertain whether shameful deeds or shameful words are in view. Either way, the picture has taken a decided turn: Though waterless clouds and fruitless trees may promise good things, but deliver nothing, wild sea-waves are portents of filth spewed forth from the belly of the sea.

[1:13]  ³⁵ sn The imagery of a star seems to fit the nautical theme that Jude is developing. Stars were of course the guides to sailors at night, just as teachers are responsible to lead the flock through a benighted world. But false teachers, as wayward stars, are not fixed and hence offer unreliable, even disastrous guidance. They are thus both the dangerous reefs on which the ships could be destroyed and the false guides, leading them into these rocks. There is a special irony that these lights will be snuffed out, reserved for the darkest depths of eternal darkness.

[1:13]  ³⁶ tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness for eternity.” See note on the word “utter” in v. 6.